Beryl Howell

Beryl Alaine Howell (born December 3, 1956) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as a U.S. district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She was district's chief judge from 2016 to 2023. As chief judge, she supervised federal grand juries in the District, including for the Mueller special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and investigations into attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election. Early life and education Howell was born in 1956 in Fort Benning (now Fort Moore), Georgia. She is the daughter of an Army officer and is Jewish. She attended elementary and secondary school in six states and Germany. Howell graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy with honors. From 1978 to 1980, Howell worked as a legal assistant at the law firm Shanley & Fisher (now part of Faegre Drinker). She then attended Columbia Law School, graduating in 1983 with a Juris Doctor as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. Career